13 Urban Survival Tips From The Homeless

It’s hard not to look down on homeless people. Even if you’re a compassionate person who gives to charity, you probably feel uncomfortable when a homeless person approaches you and asks for change. In the back of your mind, you can’t help but wonder, what is wrong with this person that made him or her end up without a place to live?

Of course, that’s very unfair. Yes, some homeless people are just plain lazy, but there are many who simply had a long string of bad luck and no one to help them out. And ironically, in a major disaster such as an economic collapse, they would actually fare better than the average person.

If you find yourself in an urban survival scenario that forces you onto the streets, you might find yourself turning to other homeless people for advice. After all, they’ve been doing it for years. They must have learned a thing or two about how to survive.

But instead of waiting until you’re on the streets to learn from the homeless, why not start learning now? Here are some urban survival tips we can learn from them.

1. Dress In Layers

Homeless people know a thing or two about staying warm, as many of them have to sleep outside when it’s incredibly cold and snowing outside. A common strategy they use, which is very applicable to survival situations, is to dress in layers.

The first layer is the layer in direct contact with your skin, the second layer is the insulation layer (or the layer designed to keep you warm), and the third layer is the shell layer, or the layer designed to protect you from the wind and the rain and snow.

If you don’t have enough clothes for three layers, use plastic, cardboard, and especially newspapers, which brings me to the next tip…

2. Use Newspapers

In addition to insulation, newspapers have a wide variety of important survival uses. For example, you can use newspapers as shelter, as a sheet, as a pillow, as toilet paper, and most importantly, as fuel for a fire.

Unfortunately, there aren’t as many newspapers out there as there used to be, but you could also use junk mail, circulars, and old phone books for these purposes.

3. Use Water Bottles

Another tactic that the homeless may use to stay warm is to place hot water bottles into their clothes as they walk, or to surround themselves with hot water before they go to sleep.

Now obviously, as a homeless person, you won’t have access to tap water and a water heater. However, you could still heat water in a tin pot over a small fire or trash can fire, then pour that water into your bottles. As a last resort, you could urinate in a bottle and keep it in your pocket until it’s not warm anymore.

4. Sleep Near Other Homeless People

It might seem dangerous to encroach on the territory of other homeless people, and there is some risk involved, but it could be even more dangerous to sleep completely alone. Bad guys are less likely to rob or attack you when there are witnesses around. But if you’re by yourself, who knows what might happen?

That’s why you’re better off sleeping in an area where other homeless people sleep. If a lot of them sleep in a particular park, alley, or abandoned lot or building, it’s probably because it’s a fairly safe area that the police ignore.

But don’t wait until the last minute to go to this area and sleep. Instead, go there during the daytime and chat up a few homeless people. Share your story, and listen to theirs. If you can make a friend or two, you’re more likely to be left alone.

5. Be Ready To Leave

Homeless people are also constantly on the go and rarely stay in one place for long. They may be forced to leave if a homeless group or law enforcement kicks them out of the area where they are staying.

In an urban survival situation, chances are very good that you’ll be constantly on the move as well, and you may not get to stay in one location for more than a few days. Besides being forced to leave by the cops, you may also be forced to leave by an angry mob if a major crisis is unfolding.

So don’t leave your things all spread out. Unless you’re using something, it should be in your bag, and your bag should always be on your back, even when you’re sleeping. This will ensure that you can stand up and leave right away. That’s why you also need to…

6. Pack Wisely

In order to keep everything you have in your pockets and your bag, you’ll have to pack light. Don’t carry anything you don’t actually use on a regular basis. That’s why I recommend carrying multipurpose items such as bandanas, plastic bags, paperclips, and so forth. All of these can be used for many different things, which means you won’t have to carry as many items.

7. Don’t Fight Anyone

Are self-defense skills something that you should be learning? Absolutely. But the most valuable self-defense tip is really to learn how to avoid a conflict to begin with.

Take note that even the smallest of injuries will need to be treated with the strictest of attention in a survival situation. A simple cut or scrape may seem like something minor, but if an infection sets in, it could result in serious complications.

Another problem with getting in a fight in a densely urbanized area is it’s almost certain to attract unwanted attention. Specifically, you could attract attention that is not on your side, in which case you are likely to end up with more than just a few cuts and bruises.

8. Consider A Dog

It’s not an uncommon sight to see homeless people with canine friends. But the truth is that dogs have many legitimate uses not only for homeless people but also in an urban survival disaster.

Besides offering you badly needed companionship, dogs are also good for protecting you against those who would seek to harm you. Also, they can help keep you warm when you’re sleeping.

9. Carry First Aid Supplies

As I said, a cut or scrape could lead to an infection. So in case you do get hurt, carry some Bandaids antibiotic ointment with you. It doesn’t cost much, and it could literally save your life.

Another tip is to wear sunscreen if you know you’re going to be in the sun all day. A sunburn could also lead to open wounds that get infected. Make sure that doesn’t happen.

10. Blend In With The Crowd

It’s not exactly a well-known fact, but homeless people tend to be very skilled at blending in with their surroundings. There’s a reason why they are often referred to as the Invisible Population here in the United States.

In the survival world, this is what is referred to as being gray man (or woman). A gray man is someone who can blend into a crowd or the surrounding area and not be noticed.

They dress just like most people in the crowd, they move in the direction of the crowd and never against it, and they avoid making eye contact with people. Being a gray man is not exactly easy, but it can go a long way to help you avoid detection by criminals and law enforcement.

One of the best ways to blend in is to keep a clean look. Use public bathrooms to shave and clean yourself up as much as possible. People are also likely to treat you better if you look more presentable. One way to keep clean is to…

11. Use Baking Soda

Personal hygiene and sanitation is perhaps one of the most overlooked subjects when it comes to survival. Sanitation standards are not going to be good out on the streets, to say the least, and you’re going to need to take action to keep yourself clean so you don’t get sick.

One of the most important personal hygiene items of all time is baking soda. When mixed with water, it can be used for anything from soap to deodorant to shampoo to toothpaste and so on. What’s more, it’s incredibly cheap, and can be bought for less than one dollar at most stores.

12. Don’t Eat Just Anything

If you’re hungry enough, it might be tempting to eat food out of the trash, but you risk getting food poisoning if you do that. If you’re forced to either eat discarded food or starve, choose things that don’t go bad as easily. That means foods that don’t have meat or dairy in them and are mostly made up of sugar and carbs. For example, leftover candy or chips will probably safe to eat.

But on that note, you don’t want to just live on candy and chips. They are empty calories that will leave you feeling hungry, and they don’t have the nutrients your body needs to function properly. Living on junk food like that will cause your health to decline rapidly, making it even harder to survive.

If you can gather some change, buy foods like beef jerky, trail mix, granola bars, and other foods that have plenty of fat and protein in addition to carbohydrates.

13. Control Your Emotions

Last but not least, another hugely overlooked aspect of survival is controlling your emotions. You’re going to be desperate, and hope is going to be in short supply.

Homeless people are confronted with the exact same thing every day. They don’t know where they’re going to eat, where they are going to sleep, or even where they’re going to go the very next day. And yet they don’t let their emotions get the better of them. If they did, they wouldn’t stay alive for as long as they have.

Instead, what you need to do is to control your emotions and use your head. Replace anger, depression, hopelessness, and desperation with logic, reasoning, and hope. Positive thinking never hurts either, no matter how bad the situation may seem to you.

Every time a negative thought enters your mind, stop it in its tracks and replace it with an optimistic thought or focus on the task at hand. As the author of the blog, Guide2Homelessness wrote, “There is nothing so bad that it will not pass.”

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many important tips for urban survival that you can learn from those who are homeless. In any grid-down urbanized disaster that strikes your city, these tips will be to your benefit.

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Comments

Don’t forget the benefit of a cheap gym membership to stay clean and healthy – use your beg money if you have some. Also, you can get hot tap water from public restrooms. You can wipe your ass there too, no need for poison ink newspaper that can give sensitive skin a rash. Camp sites and truck stops have showers too. Yeah, you will need some change. Get used to asking for a handout.

No thinks this will ever happen to them so if you have a contingency plan you’ll survive. My contingency plan is to relearn every thing my mother taught me to survive if I ever got lost on the remote glacier lake where I grew up.She taught me what I could eat and how to use weeds to heal any injury I had. So, now I’m relearning all her teachings and realizing that we are surrounded by food in trees and in the forest if you are near a clearing.

I’m homeless right now and have been for about 7 months. I just got SSI which gives me an income, I have been trying to decide what I want to do, I want to get out of the city and live the rest of my years of the grid, then another part of me wants to get an R.V and just travel around and do whatever. I’m 54 disabled but not helpless, but I’m sick of the life I’ve been living. So if anyone has any suggestions, drop me a line.
Thanks Mark

I was a homeless Vet off and on for almost nine years. With the help of some kind people I made it out of that life. Those that I thought had my back, betray me and stole what little I had. My advice is to find a warm climate.. Southern Cal, Nevada, South Texas, South Florida. Stay away from drugs and alcohol.
Once even Jesus was homeless.. Hang on.. tomorrow may be a better day.

I’d like to ad that Elderberry which is dirt cheap at Swansonvitamins.com is crucial to combat All Viruses & Colds. Also, B-Complex w/C vitamins is crucial for energy, it also helps with a case of bad nerves & depression like feelings which stem from lack of nutrients. It also helps stave off hunger a bit. I know it seems silly to some to suggest this but if you can get a few dollars together you should buy these. They sell small bottles at Dollar Tree for $1. It won’t last long but it’s enough to help you feel better & heal up a bit which will give you an edge. Thank You for reading & I hope & pray that the homeless issue can be solved in a positive & humane manner soon.

Tell them about help from religious or charity groups or locally travelling shelters. Also, tell them to call for rides to these so no accidents form walking near cars, like call aqquantences kr family (tell them to call them for help no matter where or who they are, even if you have a bad relationship with your aqquanyances or friends so they help) maybe 911 or loft or things though 911 calls not for emergencies might be illegal. Also tell them about jobs from companies that give to anyone or jobs that anyone can fill. Tell them about kind hearted companies and tell them about companies that have helped before anywheee , even if they’d re not charities to see if hey will help anywhere. Look this up if these exist near you and can be used before u drive so no accidents. Tell them this give them non money gifts like essentials and food. If u are homeless ask for this stuff. Try using government programs or local religious aid and charities to get necessary supplies and money, and also go to local traveling shelters that travel locally to different housing places so you will always be supplied for. Also m. Check homeless help forums and stuff like this. Also ask for shelter in companies and stuff and share mistreatments if they do or refuse so other companies especially will help you to get press or praise over the otter co that refused you. Also say that it will give good press f you help me if your wrokers do even if it’s not still st or having to do with the store when you ask. Take advantage of other people like this maybe say get your crush to notice or Learnof this and they’ll like you stuff like this. Or that you can get friends by sharing what you did or their god will reward or what will happen they Also ask for shelter in companies and stuff and share mistreatments if they do or refuse so other companies especially will help you to get press or praise over the other co that refused you. Also say that it will give good press if you help me if your wrokers do even if it’s not still st or having to do with the store when you ask. Take advantage of other périple like this maybe say get your crush to notice or Hearn of this and they’ll like you stuff like this. Or that you can get friends by sharing what you did or their god will reward or what will happen they will get citizenship awards like the good citizenship award or the American citizenship award if they share deeds ir find ways to have others find out or say you’ll show or whatever and look up if they report you for not sharing so you can say that’s was another guy if u try the same trick and people don’t help and also don’t let the money take pics tell them I don’t want my image seen but that’s can help them describe you on the net for peopl to not help so maybe don’t be that descriptive. Am praying for you. And look up on library computers and such ask for map from people or directions or rides to the library or use someone a phone or tell them to look it up for you and tell you other ideas or specific solution a to issues maybe call out to people walking who chose not to be helping or about to see you but are not currently helping panhandling or when they are giving you stuff.look up awesome sign ideas and go to veteran shelters or help places and make signs saying need to make call or need directions or just ask people try to look best but just ask directly to them no panhandling just walk on other and ask. Look up help places or ideas or solutions or creative out of the bix ideas like asking for shelter in public places just to stay in them but then the homeless might kick out so maybe just stay in. Am praying. Read all these comments and check if I make another comment here in future

Go into buildings for phones and warmth pretend ur shopping make yourself look good so as they won’t kick you or or not help you. Read the comment down below for more. Share abuse or bad treatment on go fund me or more for help for you and on signs and look up signs to use
And use library computers

Wow, I get the intent behind this article but it comes across as someone that has never actually worked around the homeless. First many have serious mental health issues or drug abuse problems and second they survive thanks to CONSTANT handouts from everyone starting at individuals on the street to shelters financed by the state and supplied by generous church and other like-minded groups. I worked in a homeless shelter for years and they definitely will not fair better than most. While yes they are used to hardship they have nothing to fall back on at all once society stops the steady stream of support to them.

Im suprised that you worked in a homeless shelter by the narrow and false comments you made!! You must not have actually spoke to or learned anything! I am homeless and NO not all homeless people are looking for a hand out!! I am a woman,disabled (with no income), and I still bust my butt every single day to survive. In other words I work just as hard if not harder than some people who have a PAID JOB and a HOUSE to live in and a VEHICLE to drive do only I DONT get a pay check. Yet you narrow minded working class stick your noses up and judge me when you couldnt be more false with your critisism and judgments. I just love how we HOMELESS people get treated by other US Citizens like we dont have the right to eat, sleep, be awake, breathe, or even be hired for jobs (yet are constantly told to ” GET A JOB!”) just for the sole reasoning that we lack the luxury of a actual house to live in!!

Wow veritas, I don’t think you get the intent to anything!! Not all homeless have mental issue or addicted to something! Some, like myself fall on hard times… Like a divorce! A bastard who took it all and left me notta! That was 2011. I just recently got up! I was no addicted, nor a mental case! Simply a victim of bad circumstances.
Don’t ever judge a homeless person, you never know when that homeless person could be you!!! Watch your words, and leave judgement to the Lord. Your pathetic, and unsympathetic as a human

Wow !
A “homeless” person is the very definition of someone totally unprepared to face disaster. The homeless ( pc word for bums and hobos) are not “down on their luck” , they are a by-product of their own bad decisions and perverse lack of planning to adapt to their life’s changes. I experienced a disaster in a major city when it flooded. The “homeless” were amazing in their ability to latch on and cash-in to other peoples losses and then live even better as social “disaster” parasites. They pretended to the news media and disaster relief agencies that they were “temporarily” without homes and jobs. What an insult to working people who truly lost their homes and could not easily return to work.
Real lesson: Homeless (bum) people excel at lying , cheating, stealing and living off others. Perfect Parasites. Learn those traits coupled with losing your dignity: then totally immerse yourself in drugs and alcohol … that’s when you will blend in with the loosers &dregs . Don’t forget to bring baking soda ….ha ha.

You are so ignorant and false its discusting!! I really hope someday you are brought back down to realit and in a situation where you have no where else to go but to a bush!! I lost everything due to liars and county officials (otherwise known as deceitful, narsistic, and evil members in which are disguised as “RESPECTFUL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY”!! It was not anything that was caused by any actions of MY own doing but the actions of other peoples!! Besides have you ever heard the saying if you don’t have sonething nice to say you shouldnt say anything at all?? Especially when you have no clue as to what you are talking about unless you have actually been in soneone like myself or others shoes who have been there.

Hand warmer packets. When it’s cold out the feet get cold first and a homeless man I know puts a hand warmer at his feet when he sleeps. He also sleeps with his shoes in his sleeping bag so they will be warm when he gets up.

I have been homeless, and have worked with the homeless. The best homeless survival tip is don’t be homeless, years ago I built a memorial Garden at a Shelter in Dallas for all their clients who had died and we realized that almost all homeless men die around the age of 50.
Preppers speak of becoming the gray man, when you are homeless your clothes and skin turn gray because that is the color of Urban Grit.
A great health tip for everybody, don’t get mad at the homeless panhandler, be compassionate and give ’em a buck or two, an ounce of compassion every day will give you a much longer healthier happier life.

Go to the soup kitchen’s as often as you can to get some hot food and maybe some other things you can use. You many have to set through the sermon but most of time it is in a warm dry and relatively safe place. Always thank the people the help you in any way no matter how small. And stay as clean as you can this will help you when dealing with other people.

And remember to stay sober being drunk of high will cause you trouble.

Great ideas! I never thought about first aid or Baking Soda for the homeless…those and a few others mentioned would make great gifts for your homeless friends.

I am very surprised that under #12 you didn’t mention vitamin/mineral supplements (or that homeless people don’t virtually kill for them). These can be had fairly cheaply and can be consumed one every other day or one every three or even four days to supplement a less than optimal diet. But what do I know, maybe they eat better than I thought they did?

If needed you can get a lot from Dollar tree, including a 30 day supply of multi vitamins. I was basically homeless for 4 months, I hit dollar tree for many things. and no not everything is the best price. But if its all you have you can shop for a few importation items. I still hit DT for tooth brushes, tooth paste, boxed matches, 3 in 1 body wash, candles, and many paper products.
Or Dollar General-heck they are building those stores everywhere. they have a really decent dollar isle, and other great prices on many needed items.

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